


Divinity Defined By Echo

by tristesses



Category: House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski, Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-04
Updated: 2012-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-28 21:01:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/312148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tristesses/pseuds/tristesses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a record of the unexplained disappearance of the <i>U.S.S. Enterprise</i> and all its crew, analyzed by Section 31 agents and complied by Agent D. K'. The investigation of the disappearance is pending. Results to be entirely confidential.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divinity Defined By Echo

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately, some of the formatting doesn't work here on AO3, so if you'd like to read it in its entirety, you can find it on Dreamwidth [here](http://tristesses.dreamwidth.org/25340.html). However, the missing formatting isn't a big deal, and won't effect your understanding of the story. Or at least I hope not.
> 
> Quotes and images taken from House of Leaves.
> 
> Originally posted 10/24/2009.

[Encrypted message]  
TO: adm.c.pike@starfleethq.ter  
FROM: ltwaas000m@uf.hol [address randomized][sender unknown]  
SUB: This is not for you  
ATT: [file hidden]

Chris,

This message will self-destruct two minutes after you open it; I'm taking every precaution to make sure I'm not linked to the file, since I don't want to end up floating dead in Delta Quadrant like a few other agents I could mention. I'm certain you know the risks involved in sending it to you - S31 does not tolerate leaks in their security, and if you actually plan to read this then you're officially threatening the existence of the agency, and they will not hesitate in taking you out of the picture. You need to delete this message and file. Please do it, for your own sake. But I know you won't. You always take too many damn risks.

(You'll need to tell me someday in private how you knew about me, by the way. I certainly never told you.)

This is your last chance to save yourself. I can hear you calling me melodramatic; shut up.

 

The authorization code is the old one we used on the first night.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

#1  
[end message]

> THIS IS A CONFIDENTIAL FILE SEALED BY SECTION 31 ENCRYPTION. ENTER ACCESS CODE BELOW.

  


*************************

  


> CODE VERIFIED. ADM. PIKE, CHRISTOPHER GRANTED ACCESS.  
> OPEN FILE? [X] YES [ ] NO  
> OPENING FILE…

 _Document: Evidence Regarding Disappearance of Federation starship_ U.S.S. Enterprise _on stardate 2261.168 // compiled by Agent D. K'. on stardate 2261.214 // investigation pending_

 **EXHIBIT A: INITIAL FOOTAGE OF DISCOVERY, FORMAT VIDEO AND AUDIO, TRANSCRIPT INCL.**

[ _Video recording from tricorder camera #00489-B, filmed by Ens. D'EVELINE. Image is of a class-M planet with copious flora entangled in the ruins of a square stone building, dusty red in color, with what appear to be hieroglyphics engraved at roughly eye-level. Capt. KIRK, Cmdr. SPOCK, Dr. MCCOY in foreground, Lt. UHURA in background._ ]

KIRK:  


> You got this recording, Ensign?

  
D'EVELINE:  


> Yes, sir. Everything's functioning properly.

  
KIRK:  


> Good. [ _to SPOCK_ ] Figured anything out yet?

  
SPOCK:  


> No, Captain, I have not. The structure is entirely unique; there are no reports from the away teams of any other buildings, nor indeed any life forms capable of creating such advanced architectural work. There are no seams in the stone; it appears to have been cast and constructed entirely in one piece.

  
KIRK:  


> Is there any chance at all it could be natural?

  
SPOCK [ _looking down at his tricorder, clearly verifying some information_ ]:  


> No, Captain. The external measurements indicate that it is, in fact, a perfect cube, a formation which, while not unheard of in mineral and crystal development, is most unlikely to be the natural state of any igneous rock.

  
MCCOY:  


> Huh. So what's your prognosis?

  
SPOCK:  


> I cannot begin to imagine, Doctor. There is not enough evidence to form an educated conjecture.

  
UHURA [ _joins them, dusting off her hands_ ]:  


> I don't know either, but I can tell you one thing - whoever built this place was intelligent enough to have a written language. I can't decipher it, but I'm almost one-hundred percent certain it's more than just decoration. [ _She seems to be speaking solely to SPOCK, but KIRK and MCCOY are listening in anyway._ ] Has Naraht managed to make a door yet?

  
KIRK:  


> Let's go check. [ _He gestures to D'EVELINE._ ] Come on, this way.

  
D'EVELINE [ _following the group_ ]:  


> Yes, sir.

  
[ _At this point, the camera is unexpectedly turned off. When it is once again in commission, the away team with the addition of Ens. NARAHT appears to be within the building, which consists of five interconnected rooms of varying sizes, examining it with their tricorders._ ]

SPOCK:  


> This is strange.

  
KIRK, UHURA, MCCOY:  


> What?

  
SPOCK [ _checks his readings several times, as if confirming results, appearing almost confused_ ]:  


> The inner perimeter of this building measures exactly 48 meters, 10 centimeters. However, the outer perimeter is 48 meters, 9.76 centimeters.

  
UHURA:  


> That's impossible.

  
KIRK:  


> Wouldn't the thickness of the stone add a few tenths of a centimeter to the outer perimeter? But it's the inner perimeter that's longer. That doesn't -

  
SPOCK:  


> Make any logical sense? Precisely.

  
MCCOY:  


> Could you have misread your tricorder the first time around?

  
SPOCK [ _flatly_ ]:  


> Impossible.

  
UHURA:  


> Maybe the equipment's malfunctioning -

  
D'EVELINE:  


> It's not. I checked it myself right before we left, and Lieutenant Gaila did the initial overview.

  
KIRK [ _thoughtfully_ ]:  


> Gaila's a damn good engineer. She'd catch a flaw in the programming right away.

  
SPOCK:  


> The fact remains, Captain, that we have a .24 centimeter discrepancy between the perimeter measurements. I suggest we commence with an investigation; perhaps whatever species constructed this building had an unusual knowledge of architecture and geometry more advanced than we currently possess.

  
MCCOY:  


> Jim! There's something - what the hell?

  
[ _The camera is jostled as all members of the team run to join him in the central room. He is standing before an entryway in a side wall, complete with a hinged, Terran-style door. He appears to be shaken._ ]

SPOCK:  


> A door, Doctor? To what would it open?

  
KIRK:  


> That stone doesn't match the rest of the house.1 It's grey, the rest of the place is red. What gives?

  
UHURA:  


> Did you open it?

  
[ _MCCOY shakes his head, but it seems less of a negation than a nervous tic. He remains silent, but grasps the handle of the door, turns it, and flings the door wide._ ]

SPOCK:  


> Impossible.

  
MCCOY:  


> Really, Spock? Want to tell me what we're seeing, then?

  
[ _The door opens on a hallway, entirely black except for the natural light let in by the open doorway. KIRK switches on the tricorder flashlight, and shines it down the hall. It appears to go on as far as the beam of light will travel._ ]

UHURA [ _softly_ ]:  


> Oh my god.

  
SPOCK [ _shifting his weight toward her_ ]:  


> Prayer is entirely unnecessary, Lieutenant. This phenomenon can assuredly be explained in a laboratory with proper application of the scientific method.

  
D'EVELINE [ _too quietly to be heard except by tricorder mic_ ]:  


> You sure?

  
KIRK [ _speaking authoritatively_ ]:  


> Okay, we are getting out of here. Spock, you call the other away teams, alert them to get back on the ship. Ensign, turn that camera off. [ _She puts on the lens cover before turning off the camera, which leaves the mic to pick up KIRK_ ] _Enterprise_ , six to beam -

  
[ _Video recording ends._ ]  


 **. . .**

  
"Captain's log, stardate 2261.06, Kirk here - and happy New Year's, by the way. While sending out scouting missions on uninhabited planet TZ Arietis Alpha - or maybe I should make that _supposedly_ uninhabited planet TZ Arietis Alpha - the away crew consisting of Doctor McCoy, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, Ensigns D'Eveline and Naraht, and myself found a building with incongruous perimeter measurements. This added to the weirdness of finding a building on a world where there wasn't much more than plant and insect life in the first place. [ _A chime from the door._ ] Computer, pause recording. [ _An interval of 2 minutes, 23 seconds._ ] Computer, commence recording. Anyway, when Naraht chewed a hole through the rock so we could get inside, we found a series of rooms with no decoration but what Uhura thought was a bit of writing, hieroglyphics, near the ceiling. Then McCoy found something - a door, and a hallway that led off into nowhere, as far as we could tell then. Mr. Spock thinks it may account for the perimeter measurements; we're sending down an investigatory team consisting of Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Uhura - she thinks she might have deciphered some of the symbols and wants to double-check - myself, Lieutenant Gutierrez, and Ensign D'Eveline. Doctor McCoy will be in command while I'm gone. We'll be in continuous contact with the ship via our tricorders the entire time, sending video and audio transmissions so hopefully Bones won't freak out while I'm gone. Computer, delete the last part of that sentence. Uh. Pretty sure that's all the necessary information. Will continue log entry once down on the planet. Kirk out."

"Personal log, same stardate. Okay, just for the record? This mission is freaking me the fuck out. Normally I wouldn't be okay with admitting that, but I think even Spock's weirded out by that hallway. I mean, it just keeps on going, and _there's nowhere for it to go_. It's in the side of the fucking building, if it was real it should extend to the outside, right? That's basic physics. But it doesn't. I can't believe I'm fucking going in there. But hey, the captain's gotta set an example, right? Damn straight he does. [ _pause_ ] There's something weird about the building itself, too. It feels like - and this is going to sound stupid, because it's completely empty and made out of stone, not homey at all - but it feels like a house. Like someone's lived in it - or is living in it. Fuck.

What if something is?"  


 **. . .**

  
 _Supply List, mission 2261.08, complied by Lt. Gutierrez_  
5holholbasic 2-week travel pack  
spacinglolfood rations, water rations, nutrient pills, flexaluminum tent, flexaluminum climbing gear, knife - _cont. here_  
5holholtricorder  
5holholphaser  
2holholmedikit  
5holholsubspace communicator  
 _list continues here_  


 **. . .**

  
 _1 No matter which program or computer I use, the transcriber insists on writing the word house in blue. I can't find any reason for this anomaly; a foul-up in S31's system, maybe? - Agent D. K'._

 

 **EXHIBIT B: EXPLORATION DAY ONE - HALLWAYS AND ANTECHAMBERS. FORMAT VIDEO AND AUDIO, TRANSCRIPT INCL.**

[ _Video recording from tricorder camera #00489-B of the hallway, lit by five separate flashlights. KIRK is holding the tricorder. Members of the party include KIRK, SPOCK, UHURA, D'EVELINE, and GUTIERREZ. No one is within the frame; it merely shows the grey stretch of hallway as it fades into black when their light cannot penetrate any farther._ ]

KIRK:  


> Shit, it's cold in here.

  
SPOCK:  


> Tricorder readings indicate no ambient light other than that we project; no humidity; no air movement; no windows, doors, or decorative markings - unless you have found any, Lieutenant?

  
UHURA:  


> Negative, sir. The walls are just dark grey. Almost ashen, actually. And it's - come feel the texture.

  
[ _Camera swings to UHURA and SPOCK, who are joined by D'EVELINE._ ]

D'EVELINE:  


> It's like you can barely touch it. Like it's not there…

  
SPOCK:  


> It is obviously here, Ensign. It does appear to be emitting a static charge that creates the illusion of intangibility.

  
GUTIERREZ [ _to KIRK_ ]:  


> Sir? Should I have my phaser out?

  
KIRK [ _pauses_ ]:  


> Yeah, Ensign. Álvaro, right? I think you should.

  
UHURA:  


> Expecting trouble, Captain?

  
KIRK:  


> Never hurts to be prepared, Lieutenant.

  
D'EVELINE [ _sounding startled_ ]:  


> Did you hear that?

  
All except SPOCK [ _voices overlapping_ ]:  


> What? Where? I didn't hear anything.

  
SPOCK [ _quietly_ ]:  


> I heard it, Ensign. A low rumble, at an extraordinarily low decibel. I am surprised you were able to pick it up.

  
D'EVELINE [ _flustered_ ]:  


> I - I'm part Betazoid, sir. We have stronger hearing than humans.

  
UHURA [ _muttering_ ]:  


> Of course you do.

  
GUTIERREZ [ _mildly panicked_ ]:  


> Wait - what was the rumble? Is something down here?

  
KIRK:  


> Calm down! It's fine, it was probably just - uh - Spock? What was it?

  
SPOCK:  


> I do not know, Captain. It seems -

  
UHURA:  


> Captain! There's something on the wall here. It looks like those symbols we saw on the main walls of the house.

  
KIRK:  


> Don't call it that.

  
UHURA:  


> What?

  
KIRK:  


> Never mind. What do they say?

  
[ _The camera moves to UHURA, who stands before a series of symbols carved into the strange stone at her eye level._ ]

UHURA:  


> I can't be certain, but it seems like it says - no, that can't be right. That doesn't make any sense.

  
KIRK [ _sensing her frustration_ ]:  


> Uhura?

  
UHURA [ _slowly, as if she can't quite believe what she's saying_ ]:  


> On board the ship, I realized that these aren't hieroglyphs, they're a crude alphabet. It bears some resemblance to the written language of the Irhut, so I used that as a reference for the pronunciation, but - if that's correct, which it can't be, this phonetically says "Muss es sein".

  
KIRK:  


> Is that one of the ancient Earth languages? I'm not familiar with it. Dumb hick who only has sex with farm animals and all that.

  
UHURA [ _smiles, but it rapidly fades as she says_ ]:  


> It's old-style German. A question, meaning "must it be?". I have no idea why or how it would be in here, though. And besides, we're thousands of light-years away from Earth; how would it even get here? There isn't even an intelligent species on this planet!

  
GUTIERREZ:  


> Well, fuck.

  
D'EVELINE:  


> Maybe there was, once.

  
SPOCK [ _moving to UHURA'S side, shining his light on the symbols_ ]:  


> It would appear that these have been here for some time. The carving is extremely weathered, dating back - [ _he scans it with his tricorder, and frowns as much as a Vulcan can_ ] - I would say this is impossible, but I believe empirical evidence has proved me wrong several times today already on that matter. This carving appears to be over three thousand Terran years old.

  
UHURA:  


> No. No, it wasn't there a second ago.

  
SPOCK:  


> Again, impossible, but I respect your skills of observation and accept your statement as fact.

  
UHURA:  


> Thank you ever so much, Commander.

  
KIRK:  


> Hate to break up the lovefest, but we should keep going. Uhura, transmit that scan to the ship and have someone in Sciences verify your findings. Keep those tricorders out, guys, and yell if they beep weird or anything.

  
[ _SPOCK murmurs something to UHURA that is indistinguishable on camera; she smothers a laugh, and as KIRK turns, they drop out of sight as SPOCK lightly presses his fingers to hers in an odd kind of handshake. The group continues down the hall for approximately seventy feet, until GUTIERREZ stops short and backs up three steps._ ]

GUTIERREZ:  


> Shit, you guys?

  
KIRK [ _turning and coming closer_ ]:  


> What's up? Oh, shit. That was unexpected.

  
[ _There is a door in the wall slightly behind them. It was ostensibly solid and featureless when they first walked by._ ]

D'EVELINE [ _nervously_ ]:  


> Should we go through?

  
KIRK:  


> That's our job. Hang on a second - [ _he flips open his communicator_ ] Kirk to _Enterprise_.

  
MCCOY [ _via communicator_ ]:  


> McCoy here.

  
KIRK:  


> Bones, you have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice.

  
MCCOY:  


> Save it for someone who cares, Jim - what's going on?

  
KIRK:  


> Are you getting our video transmissions?

  
MCCOY:  


> Damn right I am. And I don't like 'em. That door was not there when you first walked by.

  
KIRK:  


> I know.

  
MCCOY:  


> Beam you out?

  
KIRK:  


> Hell no, we're going in.

  
MCCOY [ _after a long pause_ ]:  


> Jim, you are a goddamn foolish man. Spock, talk him out of it.

  
SPOCK:  


> I agree with the Captain in this issue, Doctor.

  
MCCOY:  


> You just try to make my life difficult, don't you?

  
UHURA [ _interjects_ ]:  


> We can't turn back, Len, not right now. We said we'd gather three days worth of data, and that's what we're going to do.

  
MCCOY [ _irritably_ ]:  


> Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. Anything else, Jim?

  
KIRK:  


> C'mon, weren't you curious where I was? [ _MCCOY does not reply._ ] I wanted to let you know our last position in case the communicators don't work when we go through this door.

  
MCCOY:  


> The communicators better damn work.

  
KIRK [ _amused_ ]:  


> Yeah, all right, Bones. Talk to you later. Kirk out. [ _He flips the communicator shut, and turns to the others._ ] Ready?

  
GUTIERREZ [ _presumably joking_ ]:  


> Not really.

  
[ _They walk through the door and establish quick contact with the Enterprise. After that, they walk in silence, none of them registering anything unusual on their tricorders. They continue approximately one hundred feet, and find another door on their right. This leads to a larger corridor with a high ceiling, which in turn leads to another doorway, which leads to a hall with many branching-off pathways._ ]

 

UHURA:  


> It feels colder.

  
SPOCK [ _checking his tricorder_ ]:  


> The temperature has remained a constant since we entered the first hallway.

  
[ _They continue down the passageway with tributary paths, staying on the main route. The camera view begins to twist, an optical illusion created by the converging perspective lines and the absolute repetition of each blank grey wall. (It would seem impossible to find their way back; for an unknown reason, they did not make any attempt at marking their way, perhaps hoping to be guided by the_ Enterprise _upon their readiness for the home journey. - Agent D. K'.) They stop walking, and it is not immediately apparent why, until SPOCK shines his flashlight into the void. They have encountered a huge antechamber, with towering ceilings and immense pillars, all made of the same blank stone._ ]

 

KIRK:  


> Spock, how long have we been walking?

  
SPOCK [ _immediately_ ]:  


> Six hours, twelve minutes, and forty-eight seconds.

  
KIRK:  


> Is it cool with everyone if we camp here? [ _Nods of assent_.] Good. Okay. Here, I'll turn the camera off while we get set up -

  
[ _Video recording ends._ ]  


 **. . .**

"Nyota Uhura's personal log, stardate 2261.09. We've made it through what feels like an endless maze of hallways and tunnels into a huge room - so huge we can't even see the other side. Jim called it the Great Hall, I think as a joke, but the name's stuck so far. Tomorrow we're going to split in two groups and walk the perimeter to see if there's any doors or anything like that, although thankfully Jim has the common sense to warn us to stay within view of each other; there's no knowing what might happen here. Spock said it could help to think of it as exploring an unknown language, which is sweet of him - he thinks metaphors are illogical - but…I can't quite buy it. I've never in all my life experienced a feeling like this one, like this place. There is just an innate sense of wrongness about it - and I know it's illogical to put your trust in blind emotion and only emotion - but despite the fact that nothing bad has actually happened yet, I know it will. I feel like we're trespassing in a realm that isn't fit for our bodies, like we're in a house that still has the original inhabitant, and he's not happy about us being here. Or the house itself isn't happy; but at the same time, it wants us to stay because it wants - oh, I don't know what it wants. It wants us to know what it's like to be a house with no end, no beginning, no stable barriers. It's a giant brain, maybe, some monster's mind that we're trapped it. Like Ariadne without her thread. [ _a long pause_ ] I can't talk about this anymore. I'm freaking myself out. I need to sleep. Maybe I need to meditate. [ _another pause, shorter this time_ ] This will sound ridiculously co-dependent, but what I really need right now is to be held."

"Le journal personnel de Noémie D'Eveline, la date-d'étoile 2261.10. [ _The following is translated from the Terran dialect French spoken in rural Franco-Deutchland._ ] Already my hands are shaking and my eyes are wet. This house is evil. I can taste it in the back of my mouth like bile. I need to get out of here. I pray there is nothing in this room when we search tomorrow so we can return to the ship as soon as possible. I pray."

"Personal data log, Commander Spock speaking. This house seems to be magnetized at a level so extreme it does not register on any tricorder. Evidence includes the dysfunction of compasses, both tritium-phosphorescent models and the older magnetized version; and the dysfunction of altimeters. Evidence against such an assumption is the persistent clarity of subspace frequencies; in a truly over-magnetized state, those channels would be blocked, or at the very least there would be sufficient interference to make it appear as though the channels were blocked. This is not the case; we have maintained contact with the ship with no problems or complications. On a more personal note, I have observed that my connection with the Vulcan mass consciousness has declined at a rate so swift I can barely sense the bond at all. It is…disturbing. However, my bond with Nyota remains as strong and vivid as it has been in the past, which leads me to believe that rather than having a dampening effect on psionic individuals in general, the house attempts to cut off contact with the outside world. [ _a pause_ ] I have just referred to the house as if it were a sentient creature, which, while not an option to be immediately ruled out, is also not the most logical conclusion to come to at this time. It is a curious thought, however, and yet one that also instills a sensation of alarm within me. It seems logical to meld with Nyota tonight. I believe she requires my presence, and I am glad to offer it. [ _another, longer pause_ ] Despite the apparent age of the stone, there is no dust in this house."

"Personal journal entry, Ensign Álvaro Gutierrez here. I'm convinced there's some alien creature living in here with us, fucking with us out of some screwed-up sense of humor. Something like the Horta, or a silicone-based thing anyway. You know why? Because in the middle of the night there was a sound - even I heard it, and I'm partially deaf in my left ear - a…a growling. Yeah, like something growling. I didn't get up because I thought I was imagining it, but Spock was on watch and he woke us up to show us. And there was a fucking staircase in the middle of the room, going up to the ceiling and stopping, and then going straight through the floor and down as far as we can see with our flashlights. A fucking spiral staircase."

 **EXHIBIT C: EXPLORATION DAY TWO - DOWN THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE. AUDIO AND VIDEO FORMAT, TRANSCRIPT INCL.**

[ _This section consists of both video recording (from the unknown tricorder seen above) and an additional, separate audio transmission set on continuous stream to the_ Enterprise. _Video and audio match perfectly initially, but as they descend further down the staircase and into what lies beyond, the visual-audio becomes drastically out of sync 2. Video opens with a view down the twisted stairwell, which is made out of the same grey stone as everything else in the house. It continues far beyond their lights and the range of the camera._]

KIRK:  


> Spock, you've got better eyes than I do. Can you see anything?

  
SPOCK:  


> Indeed not, Captain.

  
GUTIERREZ:  


> Try dropping something down there. [ _Apparently to SPOCK_ ] Gravity in here's normal, right, sir? So we wait until it hits bottom, then do the math. It's a simple formula.

  
D'EVELINE:  


> And what if it never hits bottom?

  
SPOCK:  


> Unlikely, Ensign. It does not follow logic that the stair would extend at such a distance that we could not hear an object be forcefully stopped by the floor. Our sensors would have undoubtedly picked up such a cavity. [ _to UHURA_ ] Lieutenant -

  
UHURA:  


> A stylus should work. We have plenty more.

  
KIRK [ _takes the stylus_ ]:  


> Great, thanks, Uhura. [ _He leans over the rim of the hole, over the staircase, dangling the stylus._ ] Here goes.

  
[ _He releases it. Several minutes go by without comment, or sound from below._ ]

D'EVELINE:  


> It's gone.

  
KIRK [ _after a long pause_ ]:  


> Guess we should go get it back. [ _He inhales deeply, and breathes out slowly, takes out his communicator and flips it open_.] Bones? You there?

  
MCCOY [ _via communicator_ ]:  


> Here, Jim.

  
KIRK:  


> We're going down. Is the transporter working?

  
LT. CMDR. SCOTT [ _via communicator_ ]:  


> Aye, sir, it is. The signal's bein' tricky, though, I cannae guarantee that I'll get ye back if ye go any further.

  
KIRK:  


> Thanks, Scotty. Kirk out. [ _to away party_ ] From here on out, I'm changing the status of this mission to volunteer-only. If you want to go back up to the ship and help monitor our frequencies, this is probably your last chance. No hard feelings. I only want you out here if you want to be.

  
UHURA [ _instantly_ ]:  


> I'm staying.

  
SPOCK:  


> I as well intend on remaining with the away party.

  
[ _GUTIERREZ and D'EVELINE are silent._ ]

KIRK:  


> Noémie, Álvaro? What about you guys?

  
GUTIERREZ [ _uncertainly_ ]:  


> Captain, I…look. Okay.

  
UHURA [ _warmly_ ]:  


> It's all right to go back, Álvaro. I would if I was in your situation.

  
GUTIERREZ:  


> Yeah. [ _He inhales deeply, as if drawing strength in preparation for a fight._ ] Yeah, I'm going back.

  
KIRK:  


> Good. Noémie? Last chance.

  
D'EVELINE [ _very softly_ ]:  


> I'll stay.

  
KIRK:  


> You sure? Okay. [ _flips open communicator_ ] Kirk to _Enterprise_.

  
SCOTT [ _via communicator_ ]:  


> Scott here.

  
KIRK:  


> Beam up Mr. Gutierrez. The rest of us'll stay in contact.

  
GUTIERREZ [ _saluting_ ]:  


> Captain! [ _He transports to the ship._ ]

  
KIRK:  


> Can you put Bones back on, Scotty?

  
MCCOY:  


> Still here, Jim.

  
KIRK:  


> Well, we're going down now.

  
MCCOY:  


> I want to go on record as saying you shouldn't.

  
KIRK:  


> Duly noted, Doctor. So I guess I'll see you when we get back.

  
MCCOY:  


> Guess so. See you then.

  
KIRK [ _after a long pause_ ]:  


> Yeah, okay. Kirk out. [ _He closes the communicator and turns to the others_.] All right! Guess we'll keep going. [ _He winks at UHURA, gesturing at the stair._ ] Ladies first.

  
[ _They continue for what the video measures as three hours and seventeen minutes 3 with only idle bits of mostly illegible conversation. The camera is consistently pointed at an angle down the stairs; occasionally KIRK's feet edge into the frame. The stair is an endless spiral in the dark._]

SPOCK [ _breaking the tense silence_ ]:  


> One to 1.6180339887.

  
UHURA:  


> Hmm?

  
KIRK:  


> I was wondering about that. Seems a bit coincidental, don't you think?

  
UHURA:  


> It's familiar but I don't know what it is.

  
SPOCK [ _taking on a lecturing tone_ ]:  


> 1 : 1.6180339887, Surak's Ratio, known on Earth as the golden ratio or divine ratio, also referred to as the Greek letter phi, is a mathematical concept, which is described geometrically as the ratio of the total length **a + b** is to the longer segment **a** as **a** is to the shorter segment **b**. It has strong ties to the Fibonacci sequence and is considered to be the ideal measurement of both human and Vulcan natural beauty. This staircase follows the ratio precisely; it is, in fact, a Fibonacci spiral.

  
UHURA:  


> Oh, that's -

  
D'EVELINE [ _interrupting_ ]:  


> Are you trying to say that this - place is beautiful?

  
SPOCK:  


> I would say no such thing.

  
KIRK:  


> It's interesting, though, that the hou - original building outside was a perfect cube and this is a perfect spiral. Wonder what the dimensions of the hallways were? I bet you they were exactly even.

  
UHURA:  


> Whatever species built this was clearly advanced enough to have a good handle on geometry.

  
D'EVELINE [ _quietly, in a hiss_ ]:  


> It's not beautiful.

  
[ _The video measures another hour approximately of little conversation and no change on the stair._ ]

UHURA [ _surprised_ ]:  


> Do you see that?

  
KIRK:  


> Huh?

  
UHURA [ _pointing with her flashlight_ ]:  


> Down there! I see a bit of color. Looks orangish.

  
D'EVELINE:  


> I see it too. [ _She nudges UHURA out of the way, and speeds down the stairs_.]

  
KIRK:  


> D'Eveline! Get the hell back here!

  
D'EVELINE:  


> It's the bottom! I've reached the bottom! And there's - [ _D'EVELINE screams and stumbles backward, caught by SPOCK. At this point, the image flickers, and the film quality lowers drastically._ ]

  
KIRK [ _along with UHURA meets up with the others on the ground floor to see what caused her scream_ ]:  


> What - oh. Is that what I think it is?

  
SPOCK:  


> Affirmative, Captain. These are Starfleet-issue trail markers.

  
[ _The camera flashes on what do appear to be Starfleet markers, bright orange, but strangely dull and tattered, as if being eaten away by some unknown force 5._]

UHURA:  


> But that's impossible! We haven't been to this planet before, how could these -

  
D'EVELINE [ _hysterical_ ]:  


> It's because we have! We have been here, and we will be here, and we will always be, here, house-trapped, walking the spiral. How many times? [ _shouting_ ] How many times, God damn it all!

  
[ _SPOCK applies the nerve-pinch to D'EVELINE and she slumps silently. The away team members eye each other for a moment, silent._ ]

UHURA:  


> Do you think she's right?

  
KIRK [ _uneasily_ ]:  


> It doesn't make any sense. [ _At this point the video flickers and dies; audio remains clear._ ] We've been keeping track of time. It's been how long, Spock?

  
SPOCK:  


> Nine hours and - [ _he pauses_ ] Perhaps ten. I am no longer certain.

  
UHURA [ _aghast_ ]:  


> You can't tell?

  
SPOCK [ _after a pause, tone entirely neutral_ ]:  


> No.

  


 **. . .**

 _Interview with T'PAU of Vulcan Beta, stardate 2261.200. Conducted by Agent G. R. Incomplete._

G. R.:  


> Vulcans have a psionic link, a sort of connected mind, that allows each member of the species to sense another's presence in the universe, correct?

  
T'PAU:  


> Indeed.

  
G. R.:  


> Can you still sense Commander Spock?

  
T'PAU:  


> We cannot.

  
G. R.:  


> Why?

  
T'PAU:  


> It is unknown.

  
G. R.:  


> Can you elaborate?

  
T'PAU [ _a long pause_ ]:  


> We do not discuss such topics with offworlders. Suffice to say that at precisely 2261.91 at 1400, Spock son of Sarek dropped out of the mass consciousness.

  
G. R.:  


> What was the last image or thought you caught from him?

  
T'PAU:  


> That is not the way the Vulcan mindlink functions.

  
G. R.:  


> Okay.…Are you sure that's the exact time you lost contact?

  
T'PAU:  


> Our species is depleted. We keep close watch on all Vulcans within the mindlink; it is a necessity. I am certain. Spock has either lost his psionic ability or is in a reality from which he is incapable of communicating, or he is dead.
> 
> This interview is over.

 _2_ There is no reason for this discrepancy to occur other than the strong magnetic field mentioned by Cmdr. Spock, but if that's the case, then why didn't this malfunction occur sooner? There is no specific answer to this that makes complete sense. Investigation required.4 \- Agent D. K'.

 _3 Oddly enough, Cmdr. Spock remarks during this time that they have been traveling for approximately seven hours. Vulcans are said to have exacting internal clocks, a fact corroborated by substantial evidence; the discrepancy between the actual timestamp and Spock's statement is unexplainable._

 _4 I remember reading an old Terran story as a small child about a hole in the ground that led to another world, where there was fantasy, danger, and excitement - a place for any young kid who dreams of adventure and magic. I always thought it a metaphor for the main character's exploration of her own psyche, and the violence and sexuality inherent within. Maybe the away team found their own version of Wonderland. If so, whose is it? And why didn't HQ catch them on psych evals?  
5The house did it. Decay, destruction, crumbling, all obliterated to nothingness. They're all afraid. Fear is a handful of dust and dust is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX6  
6This was indecipherable. - #1_

 **EXHIBIT D: THE PERSONAL LOG OF DR. MCCOY. AUDIO FORMAT, TRANSCRIPT INCL.**

"CMO's personal. McCoy here. Jim's run off on some harebrained mission, dragging Spock and Uhura with him. Stupid kid's going to get himself killed at this rate. He's transmitting video and audio footage in real time to the ship, so he can show off his camera skills, I bet. Plus the personal logs, I just got Uhura's. Not going to listen, though, I have more respect for a lady's privacy than that. Wish they didn't go. I don't like the looks of that hallway."

"CMO's personal. McCoy here. Things are getting weirder. Uhura found some damn hieroglyphs on the wall in that hallway, written in German. Muss es sein. Means must it be. I've heard it before but can't for the life of me remember where. My question is, how the hell did that writing get there? Hang on, got a comm from the surface. [ _See communication between KIRK and MCCOY in Exhibit B._ ] Dammit, dammit, dammit. Leave it to Jim to walk through any strange damn door he sees. If he gets himself killed I'm going to kill him."

"McCoy here. Having a hard time thinking, keeping my head straight. This house business is screwing with my command. Not too bad, I'm still okay, in control and everything. But I can't sleep. Can't get it off my mind. Haven't got a comm from Jim in hours. A day, even. Keeping thinking about muss es sein, finally remembered where I heard it before: it's a Beethoven quote, of all the damn things. He wrote it in a string quartet, can't remember which one. A -teenth, maybe fifteen. I can look it up later. The exact quote went like this, if I remember right: Der schwer gefasste: muss es sein? Es muss sein! Or, the difficult decision: must it be? It must be! Talking about inevitability of his own greatness or some such nonsense. When it's in the house, though, what the devil does it mean? Something about inevitability. The inevitability of houses falling down, I hope! The inevitability of human survival. Nah, too cheerful. The inevitability of death. [ _pause_ ] Shit damn."

"Feel like I'm in a goddamn prison floating around a goddamn planet of the dead, s'what I feel like. Fuckin' space all around me. Stairways to heaven, if by heaven you mean that fuckin' house. [ _a pause, the sound of swallowing_ ] Nothin' like good old Kentucky bourbon t' take the edge off, that's what I said. Say. Whatever. Jim's gone, all except the personal logs, those're still comin' in. Transmittin' twenty-four seven, but half the stuff's incompre- incomp'rensible. Can't stand it, hearin' his voice like that. Uhura's either. I even miss the damn hobgoblin. Don't know what happened to D'Eveline, whatever her name's. Hope they come back. Don't think they will. [ _another pause_ ] What's the fuckin' point of keepin' track of this, anyway? Not like anyone's gonna hear it. We're not gettin' outta here. Fuck. [ _He begins singing off-key, then abruptly stops_ ] Gotta riddle for ya. S'a funny one. Funny like weird. So here goes. Who builds a better house? A mathematician, a framer, a welder? A construction worker? A logic-be-damned Vulcan or a Hamalki architect? Give up? A gravedigger. 'Cause his house'll last 'til judgement day."

"CMO's log. McCoy here. D'Eveline's dead. Gutierrez too. All of us. Doesn't matter. Got to go. Climb down those stairs. I think there's a window."

 

 **EXHIBIT E: THE FINAL EXPLORATION, DAY UNKNOWN. AUDIO FORMAT, TRANSCRIPT INCL.**

"Nyota Uhura recording. This log isn't personal anymore; we want to save our tricorders for emergencies so we're all sharing one when it comes to personal use. It makes sense, it's very practical, honestly. This means we can all chime in whenever we want, so it's similar to the video. I'm sure Leonard will be able to tell us apart. [ _silence for several minutes_ ] I'm on watch now. It's a good thing; Jim's stressing and needs his rest, and Spock - Spock's been pushing himself. I don't think he's slept the whole time we've been down here, all however many days it's been. It feels like months. It feels like no time at all. I'm afraid I may be going insane. [pause] We've been traveling down here. There's a roaring that happens every so often; it sounds almost animalistic, but I think it's the shifting of the house as it changes. Oh yes, it changes; often while we're actually walking through it. Before we had to be sleeping, like the staircase; not now. Now no matter where we go, we're heading the same direction. We were walking downhill for a while, in a huge cavern with no visible walls, and Jim thought we should turn around. Understandably. We did, a complete 180 pivot, and then once  


again we were going downhill. We assumed we were just disoriented; there's no landmarks  
or anything in the house, so again, understandable. But nearly fifteen seconds  
later we were heading downhill again. We must have turned  
around ten times, but no matter what  
we still kept  
walking  
down.

  


  


> And then everything goes back to normal,  
> or at least what we can call normal,  
> considering the situation we're in. Lost.  
> Jim has begun taking pictures with the tri  
> corder, old-style ones with the time-  
> exposure feature. Sometimes he makes us wait  
> as long as twenty minutes while he takes  
> the pictures. I would be upset, but in one  
> photograph he set up three flares about  
> fifty feet away and took some pictures. We  
> all sat on the ground, I held Spock's  
> hand and he let me. And in the first picture  
> the flares were normal, three spheres  
> of light. In the second...in the second  
> they seemed further away. And in the third  
> , after nearly an hour, they were just  
> streaks, indicating that either we or the  
> flares were moving. But we were sitting  
> still. The tricorder was on a tripod. The ho  
> use is moving us away."

[ _It's not me doing this formatting. The transcriber does it itself, even when I enter it by hand it's all changed after I save the file and reopen it, it wants to be like this. It's a personal log house, get it? No, you probably don't. People don't join Section 31 to be comedians. - Agent D. K'._ ]

"Nyota?"

"Spock, you should be sleeping."

"It is unnecessary. I do not require any more rest than I have already accumulated. You, however, do. I will take over your watch."

"Spock - "

"Do you object?"

"I won't be able to sleep anyway. I'm fine here."

"Please do this. It is necessary for your health."

"I can't. I - I don't want to sleep alone."

"Then come here. I do not necessarily have to walk the perimeter to be on watch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do not speak. [ _Silence for a moment, then the sound of movement and heavy breathing. A few groans, mostly feminine. Several minutes pass in this manner, until SPOCK speaks, voice strained._ ] Nyota - "

"Oh - oh - "

[ _KIRK_ ] "Keep it down, will you?"

"The lieutenant is preparing to sleep, Captain."

"Sure, sure."

 **. . .**

"Spock here. I have taken over Lieutenant Uhura's shift. Both she and the Captain require more sleep than I do, and I am capable of going up to six Terran weeks without rest. However, measurements of time such as that are meaningless here. I will endeavor to be cognizant of my body's needs. [ _short pause_ ] There is a concept developed by a human philosopher known as Zeno referred to as Zeno's arrow, which in summary asks that if everything when it occupies an equal space is at rest, and if that which is in locomotion is also occupying such a space at any moment, can a flying arrow truly be said to be in motion? The paradox has been solved by advanced calculus, a solution I would normally accept. However, the metaphysical questions are…disturbing. Theoretically, to travel between point A and point B, one would have to travel half of that distance, to point C. To travel from point A to point C, one must travel half _that_ distance, to point D. And the cycle continues, dividing space-time into smaller and smaller fragments, until you cannot traverse the distance because you can never reach point C. Time essentially freezes. Motion is meaningless. [ _long pause_ ] I believe that this theory holds true in the house."

"Kirk here. Going crazy, definitely going crazy. I keep taking all these pictures, man, I don't know why, I don't even know what I'm taking them of, but I do. There's no point to it, the tricorders are transmitting but hell if they ever reach the _Enterprise_. We're deep in it, plunging the bowels of the beast, this fucking house. It's evil, fucking evil. [ _pause_ ] Nah, no, it's not. I can't describe it. It's just what it is, and that makes it even worse - it's not doing this out of malice or spite or hunger, it's just vast, impenetrable, it swallows you up because that's just what it does. Okay? I [ _unintelligible, then silence for nearly ten minutes_ ] Fucking shitfuck! D'Eveline's gone, just took off and went. Tried to bash me over the head and held Spock at phaserpoint and fucking ran! Motherfucker! I can't even fucking - [ _unintelligible_ ]"

"Kirk again. We found something. Papers and collages, like real paper, not PADDs or synthesized stuff. Some of it doesn't make any sense, it's just gibberish and bullshit written by some lunatic guy. And the rest looks like a replica of a journal log from old-Earth date 1610, but get this - they mention the stairs, the same fucking stairs. I think someone left it for us. Maybe the fucking house left it for us. We're scanning it into the tricorders. Hope someone gets it. Hope someone's there."

"This is Nyota. We found - oh my God. We found D'Eveline's body. She'd been torn to pieces. Mauled. Her blood should have been splattered on the walls, that's how violent it was, but there was none. None anywhere. And then, after we went back to our campground and calmed down, we went back, and her body was gone, no trace, not even dust. The house took it. Why her and not the papers? Did it want [ _unintelligible_ ] ing to us? Or was it a warning - it says on the letter 1610, but Spock tested it and said it was actually from 2001. Or maybe D'Eveline just wasn't any use anymore. [ _pause_ ] I wonder what murdered her, or who. I don't believe anything actually lives in here, and I know Spock and Jim were with me the entire time - unless. Unless what she thought was true, and we've always been in here. Everything else is just an illusion - or no, it's not that, it's that this is our destiny, this is where we'll always end up when the time comes. A cyclical process, like reincarnation. [ _pause_ ] What have we done to be so [ _unintelligible_ ]"

[ _From this point forward, most of the transmissions are merely static, or the static disturbance is so strong it is impossible to decipher. What follows is the transcript of the pieces of dialogue technicians have managed to extract._ ]

"A house is a house is a house. Ain't that right?" [ _Presumably KIRK_ ]

 

"[ _unintelligible screams_ ]"

 

"What is this terror that hunts?" [ _Presumably SPOCK_ ]

 

"The question is, could the house exist without the experience of itself? Is it possible [ _unintelligible_ ] unshaped [ _unintelligible_ ] human perception?" [ _UHURA_ ]

 

[ _UHURA, hysterical_ ] "It's behind us, go faster, can you see! - "

[ _KIRK, weeping_ ] "Shit, yes, I can! I can see - ah fuck - "

[ _SPOCK, urgently_ ] "Jim, hand me the camera, let me - "

[ _KIRK, screaming unintelligibly. He does not sound pained or frightened._ ]

[ _UNKNOWN_ ] Light, it's light! Go through, it's a window, oh my god -

Go through the window -

 **EXHIBIT D: THE SCANS AND TRICORDER PICTURES. PHOTO FORMAT.**

  
 _Manuscript #1_

 

  
 _Manuscript #2_

 

  
 _Manuscript #3_

 

  
 _Collage #1_

 

  
 _Collage #2_

 

  
 _Final visual transmission from tricorder camera #00489-B_

 

 ** _Section 31 recommendation: further investigation necessary._**

 

 

> DELETE FILE? [X] YES [ ] NO  
> ENTER ACCESS CODE:

  


*************************

  


> DELETING FILE…  
> DELETE PERMANENTLY? [X] YES [ ] NO  
> FILE DELETED.

[Encrypted message]  
TO: lt.cmdr.n.1@starfleethq.ter  
FROM: adm.c.pike@starfleethq.ter  
SUB: re: This is not for you

#1,

Deleted the file. Smart move, using a fake address, by the way.

Understood the melodrama.

Just knew about you - call it instinct.

You know what I'm going to do. Don't inform the other spies, okay? Pretend ignorance and you'll be fine. It's a small ship anyway, I can manage the flight to TZ Arietis alone. I see you rolling your eyes. Don't talk back - please just try to understand.

I have to know who the minotaur was.

I wrote something for you:  


> A maze. Amazing maze. A maze meant. What did it mean? A May zing perhaps. M.A.s in the bush or amidst the maize.

  
Quite amazing, huh? Don't worry, I'm not that impressed either, but grant an old crippled man a chance to play.

Love,

Chris  
[end message]


End file.
